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Monday, September 2, 2013

Labor Day Weekend

What better day to have 15 miles scheduled than a day named for labor? I pushed my long run off this entire weekend because of all my little
aches, and I plan to get those 15 miles in
today instead.

Labor Day has kind of become a holiday that, for me, is rife with political implications. Rather than get into all that, I'm just going to say that I appreciate the people who work hard for little money and little recognition. The most thankless jobs are often the most important, and we build our country on the backs of those willing to do the under-appreciated work.

Anyway, Scott flew in from California for the long weekend, so Matt and I spent a couple days with his family. (I feel like lately I've been filling a lot of posts with a lot of non-running pictures...but how many screenshots of Nike+ can someone really take? Anyway, I think paddling counts as cross-training, so this is still a totally relevant post, right?)

We got in Saturday after lunchtime and met Scott and my MIL for bowling. Admittedly, I'm terrible at bowling, but I really love it. The most expensive part of bowling is renting shoes, but luckily Carole (my MIL) bought me my own pair a couple years ago, so now I'm all set!

Those little pinup girls are the cutest!

83 baby...Bowling is like golf, right? The lowest score wins?

Yes, my first frame I got a gutter ball and came back by knocking down a very impressive ONE pin.

After bowling, the boys' aunt joined us and we had dinner at JoTo's, a hibachi steakhouse we're kind of obsessed with. It's our go-to place when family is visiting. I was too mesmerized by my food to take any pictures, but we were able to get one at the end of the night.

After stuffing our faces.

Our plans for Sunday included kayaking, and I decided to bite the bullet and giving paddleboarding another try. In case you're new to my blog, let me reiterate that I am terrified of open water. I hate anything that lives in water. I have legitimate panic attacks when I think we're anywhere near a manatee.

But Matt loves SUP and so many of our friends love it, so I need to learn to at least be comfortable with it.

We ended up having a great time. We stayed in the bay area so it wasn't too deep, and we spent some time going through the mangrove tunnels. I even got in the water for a bit to cool off!

Gazing off into the distance and imaging one day being able to afford one of the gorgeous mansions lining the bay.

Like a pro!

Keeping an eye out for manatees in the water.

Scott gave Matt's board a try.

These birds follow paddlers because we stir up fish as we go, making lunchtime a breeze!

By the end of the day, I was so comfortable I was able to do planks on the board, and moving from standing to sitting was easy as pie!

My form is a little off, but for planking on a paddleboard, I think I did a pretty good job!

Mangroves are protected and it's illegal to cut them, but these tunnels are somehow always maintained enough to kayak/paddle through. The shade is a nice treat, and there's something truly spiritual and ethereal about floating beneath the branches. It's quiet and calm and simply perfect.

I had to kneel in the tunnels so that I wouldn't get whacked in the face by the branches.

Basically, this was a great day of cross-training and fear-smashing!

After a very full day, we had dinner and then departed to go back home. We didn't get in until almost 10pm. Needless to say, I didn't want to get up at 5am to run this morning, so while I have a long run on the docket, I'm planning to do it later on.

What did you do for Labor Day weekend?Have you ever paddleboarded?Do you have any hobbies that you love, but stink at?

Whoa. I totally share your fear of open water. It's why I rate "surfing" as way more terrifying than "skydiving". Are manatees aggressive?!?! I've never worried about them before. But maybe I should start (you know, for when I'm near an ocean. I don't think there are any Lake Michigan manatees)

I had a nice laugh at this because manatees are SO not aggressive at ALL! I'm the ONLY person I know who is afraid of them. People like to swim with them. They're super friendly. But they're huge and just freak me out so much. There's no need to add them to your list of fears!

Wow! That looks so beautiful! It's so fun to see completely different areas of the country that I've never been to. It's one of the best parts of blogging. :-D Good job at conquering your fear!! It looks like you had fun. Are manatees mean? I know nothing about them.

AHHHH so cool!!! I want to try SUP so badly but I live in the boonies of CT so my options are limited:-(I did a 20K on Monday as I also like to labor through Labor Day. It was humid and wet but I loved every mile!

I second your appreciation for the people who work hard, long hours for very little money. Ironically they're usually the ones who can be found working a normal 8 hour + shift on Labor Day. During our vacation we stopped at a fast food restaurant to grab a quick bite on the road. My boyfriend ordered his meal while I was using the restroom so I went up to order and pay for my meal. The really nice cashier comped my meal because he said a lady shouldn't have to pay for her food (the feminist in my cringed hard, but it wasn't the time or place to jump into *that* lecture... hah). After talking with him some we came to find out he makes $9.50/hour and was currently in hour 10 of a 12 hour shift. If I were him I would have been so grumpy I would want to charge people double the price for their food. Instead he was in positive spirits and doing something nice for a stranger - it was pretty amazing. He should be the vice president of customer service making lots of money!

Also, you look awesome paddle boarding! I don't believe that you're afraid of open water because you look so professional out there! ;)

I have so much respect for minimum wage workers who still keep a smile on their faces, especially because they deal with SO much crap from customers! (I giggled at your inner feminist...mine would have raised her eyebrow at that line, too.)

I'm glad I look like I knew what I was doing, because I definitely had butterflies and nerves most of the day!

I have never paddle boarded (not sure that's a word) but it looks like it would be an amazing workout!!! Those tunnels look really neat to paddle through and it looks like it would have given your IT band a rest too.

I recently did one of those obstacle courses in the trees including ziplining, heights, and balance. It helped me smash some of my fears too!

WOW! Paddle-boarding looks so much fun!!!! I don't even think I ever heard of it...I wonder if my area does something like that. Kayaking and rowing is a big thing in our area! I LOVE open water! I love going boating with my dad and jumping in the lake! YAY :) :)What a beautiful weekend and beautiful pictures!!!